It’s Not To Me, It’s From Me

“When people come up and give me a compliment–‘Corrie, that was a good talk,’ or ‘Corrie, you were so brave,’ I gather each remark as if it were a flower. At the end of each day I lift up the bouquet of flowers I have gathered throughout the day and say, ‘Here you are, Lord, it is all Yours.’” – Corrie ten Boom

When I was young, I felt shy and uncomfortable receiving compliments.

But now, when people come up to praise me after a talk, like Corrie I just gather their kind words up like flowers into a bouquet. I put my focus on the kindness of the giver of the compliment rather than on my self-conscious self. I pause a moment to breathe the sweet aroma and I offer back a warm and grateful smile.

That bouquet is not to me, it’s from me. It’s all the praise I’ve received and all the joyful exhilaration I’ve experienced, arranged in a turkey basket of Thanksgiving, waiting to be offered up to the Author and Perfecter of everything.

Love this! I’m going to remember it and take it to heart. It’s a good way to explore this issue with my children’s, too — it will help them find the way to glorifying the Lord with their accomplishments rather than trying to find a reaction between pride and awkward false modesty. Thanks for sharing!

I was just speaking with someone yesterday who told me that she doesn’t take compliments well, is embarrassed. I wish she believed in Jesus so that she could see this beautiful picture of presenting a bouquet to Him. But I’ll use that idea, and share it with her somehow.

She could try picturing the compliment as a flower, reach out and graciously take it and then hand it right back to the giver. When someone says something kind to me after I speak, I hand the compliment right back to him/her. Because taking the time/effort to come up to me is an act of kindness that ought to be praised.

It might work for her even if she doesn’t see God in every success, skill, bit of artistry, talent and act of kindness.